Rise Up!

Dear Falcons,

Back in the early eighties, my dad took me to games in old Fulton County Stadium.

I watched Andrews, Bartkowski, Riggs and Billy White Shoes Johnson dazzle us in the 80's and in the 1980-1981 season, they nearly reached their first NFC Championship game. That's when Dallas stunned our Falcons with a furious comeback outscoring them 20-3 in the 4th quarter and edging the birds 30-27 at Fulton County Stadium to reach the NFC Championship game.



The first of many heartbreakers

I remember being in attendance in the late 80's when a kick returner dropped his first punt and then manage to scamper all the way down the field for a touchdown against the old Los Angeles Rams. His name was Deion Sanders. You can learn more about him in Canton.

I was in the Dome in 1998 when we beat San Francisco and then watched on TV a week later as we stunned the Vikings to reach our first and only Super Bowl. I thought it would be the first of many. Then the whole thing with Eugene Robinson happened, we got blasted by the Broncos and Pro Bowl Running Back Jamal Anderson tore his ACL the next season after finally reaching a contract agreement. It looked like the franchise was in shambles.



Why Eugene?

Then a few years later, the birds made a huge trade and drafted a kid out of Virginia Tech. Michael Vick looked like he would take us to the promise land just as the '98 team almost did. Then he got arrested, our coach quit on his team and we had to start from scratch yet again.

I'd about given up on this franchise. Then one night I remember sitting up and watching the number 2 ranked Boston College Eagles play the number 8 ranked Virginia Tech (coincidentally Michael Vick's alma mater) Hokies. I didn't know much about BC's QB but I'd heard he was pretty good. He had one of the worst games of his career that night yet still led his team to an incredible comeback win in the last few minutes while throwing up in a rain-soaked game on the road. I knew this kid was special. His name was Matthew Thomas Ryan. Here in Atlanta we call him Matty Ice.



Matty Ice!

Here's the link from that game...http://www.espn.com/college-football/columns/story?id=3079990&columnist=schlabach_mark.

It was then that I really started to follow the kid and when the Falcons drafted him 3rd in the 2008 NFL Draft, I knew the kid was good but I never had any idea that he would turn out this good.

Matt's teams have been to the playoffs several times, In 2011, we earned the number 1 seed and came up against a hot Packers team in round 2 at the dome. They demolished us 48-21 and Matt had a terrible game throwing a pick 6 before halftime. It was then that I began to wonder if Matt Ryan would ever lead us to a championship. I admit that I probably jumped the gun. In 2013, we came within a play of getting to the Super Bowl but instead lost a big lead to the eventual NFC Champions the San Francisco 49ers and lost 28-24. It was like Atlanta-Dallas 1980 again.



Rodgers got us back then but I look forward to the rematch.

As bad as things were going, Matt never let it affect him off the field. He still did a ton in the community and rarely complained when people like me doubted him. Heck, he even wrote me this on my 41st birthday which I've never shared until this blog. Thanks Emily for talking to his future wife and telling her about me back then. Last year, Matt had the worst season of his career and quite honestly I began thinking we might want to draft his replacement. So much for appreciating his birthday card. I'm ashamed to admit that but a guy on the wrong side of 30 who was regressing was not a sign of a potential MVP candidate.



Thanks Matt!

Then I heard Ryan was in LA this offseason. While most players would do that to improve their brand or check out the Hollywood lifestyle, that wasn't the case for Matt.

Ryan, instead, visited Tom House and Adam Dedeaux of the acclaimed 3DQB training facility. House, a former major league pitcher and pitching coach, and Dedeaux, a former pitcher at USC, developed a program aimed to improve the overall throwing performance of quarterbacks by focusing on four key areas: functional strength and conditioning, mechanics and motion analysis, mental and emotional management, and nutrition. They've worked with Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Carson Palmer, to name a few. Matt's top receiver Julio Jones said he noticed a major difference in Matt's performance during the preseason camps.

Jones was correct. Ryan's arm strength and accuracy drastically improved after completing the program and the Falcons finally gave him the center he's needed his entire career...Alex Mack!

The rest is history.

The Falcons are now 1 win from their first NFC Championship in nearly 2 decades and 2 wins from doing something the franchise has never done in 50 plus years...win a Super Bowl.

Falcons, regardless of the outcome on Sunday, your play has inspired a city of transplants and has helped us come together as one. We love this team. We have 2 running backs who weren't drafted in the first round but together have become one of the best running back tandems in the NFL. We have the best receiver in football and unlike most great NFL receivers, he has avoided the diva label. We have a defense full of young future stars who don't do their talking off the field but rather hit people hard on it. We have a coach who has helped an entire team buy into a "brotherhood." We may not be known as America's Team but I'm fine calling us "Atlanta's Team."

Matt, this post is written to you though. I'm sorry I doubted you. I remember that kid throwing up on a rainy night in Blacksburg, Virginia while leading his team to a comeback win despite having one of the worst games of his life. I remember the guy who came to Atlanta and immediately became engaged in the community. I remember the guy whose first NFL pass in September of 2008 was a 62-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins. As a rookie that season, Ryan lead his team to the postseason. Matt Ryan has always been special. I noticed it a long time ago. It escaped me for a little bit. I'll never make that mistake again. Matty Ice, I'll be joining you in the Dome once again on Sunday. I will cheer like never before.



Counting down the hours till Sunday.

Let's be special one more time.

Rise up!

Andy

The (Parenting) Decision

Years ago, basketball player LeBron James had a big decision to make. Would he stay in Cleveland or "take his talents" to Miami? On live television, he chose Miami and it created a stir around the country.



You think this was difficult?

The "decision" that many potential parents dealing with chronic illness have to make regarding starting a family, while almost never televised, is considerably more difficult and much more life-altering than "taking our talents to South Beach." I speak from experience. Thanks to cystic fibrosis, having kids is not as simple as a fun evening with your significant other. For Andrea and I, it required preparation, disappointment and determination.

For years, there were "CF parents" but that meant the parents had kids with CF. Almost never did it mean that the parent actually had CF. The stereotype of the CF parents is constantly changing. I'm proud to call myself the "new version" of the CF parent but it was a long journey to get there.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is widely known to be financially exhausting. That's certainly not a lie. The procedure, at the time, was not covered by our insurance company and cost nearly as much as a new automobile. What is rarely mentioned, however; is the cost both physically and emotionally that IVF puts on the couple. Andrea and I went through IVF three times before successfully getting pregnant with Avery. It required Andrea going through a brunt of the pain. For me, that was extremely difficult because I knew that I was solely responsible for us having to go through the injections and surgical procedures. Approximately 98% of males with CF do not have a fully formed vas deferens which is the bridge that brings the semen into the penis and allows for "normal" sexual reproduction. My vas deferens was about as reliable as my Braves in an October playoff series. Sorry, I had to go there. Go Falcons by the way!



IVF will never stand for "It's Very Fun."

Andrea and I always wanted to have kids. That was never a question. I had to ask myself though if I was up to the task. Having two amazing parents myself, I understood that parenting required a lot of time. I knew that two hours of cystic fibrosis treatments a day would often get in the way of being 100% attentive to the needs of my children. Then there was the fact that I had a terminal disease. Would it be fair to have children? My doctors told me that my health was very good for someone with cystic fibrosis and I wanted Andrea at the least to have children of her own because I knew that she would make an amazing mother. By the way, I was 100% correct on that prediction. We knew that adoption was probably not going to be an option since most agencies would be hesitant to give a child to someone with a life-threatening disease. After the first IVF "failure," I told myself that if we did have kids that I would be the best father I could. After the second unsuccessful attempt, Andrea and I began to have doubts that we would be successful. It was a really emotional time especially with friends announcing their own pregnancies. Envy definitely creeped into my head.

I'd known for a long time that having kids would be difficult. First off, as a kid I found out that I wasn't even supposed to be around in my twenties. In my early twenties, while still single, I went to an IVF clinic and had my "swimmers" tested. When I found out my sperm was "suboptimal," I was greatly disappointed. Many people wondered why I did this then instead of waiting until I was actually dating someone seriously. It was something I felt was important to share with anyone that I dated regarding our future. As positive as I was, I always wanted to be upfront about my circumstances. It's not like I brought it up on the first date but as a relationship got more serious and my significant other began learning about CF, I wanted to make sure I had the answers she needed. I did of course think of some great ways to bring it up. "You swam competitively in college? What a coincidence! My sperm need swimming lessons." Try not to steal that one.

The third IVF attempt for me and Andrea brought success. It made all of the injections, the surgeries, the financial loss and the emotional pains worth it. We had our baby girl Avery in 2006 and two years later after one less attempt, we had our son, Ethan.



I'm truly blessed.

I kept my promise of doing all I could as a parent. Like Andrea, I participate as much as I can. At night, you'll rarely find me out as I truly enjoy laying with my kids before Andrea and I put them to bed. I have been coaching their little league teams for the last 6 years. I truly enjoy seeing both my kids when I pick them up at carpool because I realize what a blessing it is to be a parent. Yes, after many years of changing diapers and dealing with tantrums, I can still safely say that I love being with my children.



Coaching has been a great way to bond with my kids.

I'm very fortunate that my wife is an extremely active parent. CF forces me to spend a lot of time focusing on my health. While I do my therapy in the mornings, Andrea wakes the kids and makes their lunches. In order to spend more time with my little ones, I do my therapy 3 times a day during school days (they are at school during my added midday therapy) and only twice on the weekend usually when they're asleep (early morning and late night). When I'm sick, my kids understand that I may not be able to pick them up because of the IV implanted in my arm and that I may not kiss them in order to avoid germs. That's commonplace in our house. Speaking of commonplace, my kids don't see my therapy as strange. Sometimes I do an extra therapy in the middle of the day when they are home or an early evening session and they'll just bring a friend by and aren't embarrassed at all to walk by me while I'm doing my vest. Occasionally a kid asks them what I'm doing and I hear my kids say "He's just doing his therapy." It's as if it is as normal a task as brushing one's teeth.



Just daddy doing his vest.

There are other things different about me as the "new version" of the CF parent. I wear a mask during our flights out of town and to the pediatrician's office. I sometimes do my vest in the car while waiting for them in carpool. I like to call myself the "nebulizer driver." I take my pills wherever we go and my kids sometimes have to remind me to put the bottle back in my pocket after I take them.

CF probably affects my kids though they don't have it. I imagine they worry about my health and it makes them worry about their own mortality. As they get older, we'll have more talks about CF as I'm very open to discussing the topic. As of now, they realize that it's mostly a lung disease and that daddy takes a lot of medication and does a lot of therapy to stay well. I tried to convince them that CF means daddy has to watch a lot of sports but they didn't seem to buy that one.

Not a day goes by that I don't give 120% effort into being the best father that I can be. Not a day goes by that I'm not grateful for having a wife who is an amazing mother. Not a day goes by that I don't regret "the decision" to have children.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have another "big decision" on my hands...pop tarts or waffles for breakfast?

Yeah, the decisions have gotten slightly easier but when it comes to loving my kids, no decision is any less important.



Being a parent in a word has been "magical."

Live your dreams and love your life.

Andy

Sweet 16

The number 16. For many it’s just a number that chronologically follows 15 and precedes 17. To me, it’s much more than that. It’s the number that has quietly impacted my life. Some of these coincidences will seem far-fetched but to me, a numbers guy, they make perfect sense. Let me explain.



Sweet 16 indeed

Before I was born, my sister Wendy Carol Lipman (16 letters if you’re counting) lived just 16 days. Wendy was born December 18, 1970 and died January 2, 1971. The number of days between Wendy's death and my birth were 976 (which by the way is divisible by 16 - 61 ((the reverse of 16)) x 16 = 976). Maybe my only regret in life is that I never met her. Still her memory has had a profound effect on me. Rarely will I utter the words “life is not fair” and that’s because I have lived longer than the 16 days that my sister was given. Wish for Wendy, the event we started in her memory to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, has helped me to realize that I want to help people. The event coincidentally features 16 teams and 16 CF ambassadors and our greatest fundraising year was...well you probably guessed it, our 16th year.

A big influence for me growing up was Alex Miller Deford (16 letters). Alex lived only 8 years (half of 16) but her story captured people’s attention and helped lead to a huge increase in cystic fibrosis fundraising. Without all of that money raised, I doubt we'd have the research that we have today and people like me may not be alive. The book, Alex: The Life of a Child, written by her father and my role model Frank Deford was the single most important book I’ve ever read. Alex coincidentally was born the same year that Wendy died. Oh, and the book was published in 1984 which of course is divisible by 16.

I was born Andrew Cary Lipman (16 letters). That year, 1973, the median life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis was approximately 16 years. When I turned 16, I received the gift that changed my life. No, it was not a car. It was my therapy vest. It was the gift, that like a car, granted me independence. I didn’t need my parents for postural drainage (hitting my sides, back and front morning and night to clear the mucus from my lungs) anymore. I could go off to college and make something of myself.

Also, when I was 16, the single biggest positive for CF research happened when the CF gene was finally discovered in 1989. This eventually led to breakthrough drugs in the CF community like Kalydeco and Orkambi which in several cases have greatly improved people's lives.

The biggest influence on my life is my wife Andrea Herz Lipman (16 letters) who just happened to be born in Tennessee, the 16th colony to become a state. I admit I'm reaching. While there may be some doubt regarding the number 16's influence here, there's no doubt regarding the impact that Andrea has made on my life. She has made me a better person and given me two gifts that even outweighed the importance of my vest…my children, Avery and Ethan Lipman (a combined 16 letters but you probably figured that out).

In 2016, I was fortunate enough to receive the Alex Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. What was even more of an honor was the man who gave it to me just happened to be my role model and Alex Deford’s father, Frank Deford. I received the award from him 32 years after he published the book about his daughter and we all know what 32 is divisible by.

So you see, it has all come full circle. My life has changed a lot in these 43 years on this planet but two things have remained the same.

I'm kicking cystic fibrosis's butt and the unusual occurrence of the number 16.

Live your dreams and love your life!

Best Wishes,

Andy